Overview
- December exports rose 6.6% year over year and imports increased 5.7%, delivering a $114.1 billion monthly surplus and topping expectations.
- For 2025 as a whole, dollar-denominated exports grew 5.5% while imports were flat, resulting in the record $1.189 trillion surplus confirmed by customs data.
- Monthly surpluses exceeded $100 billion seven times in 2025, a run supported in part by a weaker yuan.
- Exporters increasingly redirected shipments to Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America in response to renewed U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump.
- Authorities moved to reduce friction by scrapping solar export tax rebates and accelerating revisions to the Foreign Trade Law, alongside public calls to expand imports.